Question

She is scared of other kids (19 months old)

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My daugther (19 months) is scared of other kids, she would grab me hard when she sees them coming. I admit that she has little contact with other kids because she has a nanny comming home and she plays with the kids of close friends only. This started when a little girl grab her by her face real hard, before that she did not interact with kids but she could look at them be close to them. Now I take her to playgrounds to try to let her assure that she'll be fine and look and learn. If a kid approaches I talk to the kid trying for her see it is a pretty normal situation, sometimes that helps, but she gets easily scare again if they try to pass a line (get closer to her or grab her hand), she'll immediatelly look for me. I am affraid that his would last long and then she would have problems going to school. Any advices...

Mom Answers

That was my life about 2 3/4 years ago. My daughter is now four and although she is still cautious, she is quite the leader in her group. My daughter was terrified and never interacted in Gymboree or playground activities and would cry when children were around her, looking for me. Even in her PK3 class (3 years old) the teacher would tell me she didn't talk. I took her to a psychologist b/c I thought she had selective mutism and found out she was gifted and didn't like typical social situations of her peers but preferred "alone time". She is now reading at the second grade level and still shows a bit of hesitation but engaging her on one to one playdates really helped.

my dd is four and does this still also less then what she used to. She doesnt want to play with kids unless there is just one and even then it takes forever for her to be comfortable. She used to cry hysterically but now she just puts head down and hides. I'm asking her doctor about it tomorrow but I am at a loss with what to do for her.

my 20 month old son sometimes will get scared of kids depending on th eday, this started when when one day at park a kid came up to him and pulled his hair and punched him (i was just a few steps but it hapnd so quick that he got hit) from then on he would get scared a lot. i hate that day,becs before we had no problems, like today a baby came up to him and started screaming and he ran off, and was terified. it depends on his mood these days. there are days when he would just go up to everyone and try playing w/ all kids.those are the happy days.

My son is 21 months old and has always been pretty cautious and shy. every day my nanny takes him to the park and he has been branching out more. but about a week ago he seems to have suddenly regressed. He now clings to her or me whenever there are kids around that he doesnt know. He wont play with them unless he knows one of them and even then my nanny or I have to be right by his side the whole time or he gets hysterical. it seemed to have happend about a week after we came home from a 3 day trip and he had a fever for the first time and ear infection and was not feeling well that week> he did fine with his grandparents and sees them all the time. but part of me is wondering if by us being gone for a few days and him getting sick, he is having increased separation anxiety becuase of it? then my biggest worry is if this is a sign of somehting more serious since he seems to be afraid of groups of people he doesnt know all of a sudden...i dont know if this is just a phase or not?

My son is 21 months old, and has a vision impairment. We really attributed his behavior around other children to his low vision. But the more I thought about it, it did not seem to be the only factor.
We have the same experience with him: crying hysterically when another child tries to play with him.
He warms up to adults and older children pretty okay (except he still tends to stay by our side).
We just re-enrolled him in daycare, and hopefully his fear lessens over time..i am praying!

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